Centre selects 47,328 villages under PM-AJAY; over 46,000 development works completed

The Centre informed the Rajya Sabha that 47,328 villages, including 435 in Telangana, have been selected under the PM-AJAY Adarsh Gram component. Of the 3.28 lakh development works identified, 46,642 have been completed, benefiting nearly 47.6 lakh people

New Delhi: The Centre has selected 47,328 villages across the country, including 435 in Telangana, under the Adarsh Gram component of the Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana (PM-AJAY), with 46,642 development works already completed, the government informed the Rajya Sabha on Sunday.

The government is implementing the Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana (PM-AJAY) to promote the socio-economic development of Scheduled Caste communities through the integrated development of villages under its Adarsh Gram component, the Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale shared the details in a written reply to Rajya Sabha.

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The minister said the Adarsh Gram component aims to achieve saturation of 50 monitorable socio-economic indicators across 10 sectors, including education, through the integrated development of selected villages.

A need assessment survey is carried out to establish the baseline status of these indicators, following which identified gaps are addressed through convergence with Central and State government schemes or through interventions supported under PM-AJAY.

He added that the progress made by states is regularly updated on the PMAGY Portal.

The written reply stated that, across the country, 3,28,131 development works and 1,10,51,213 beneficiaries have been identified under the scheme.

Of these, 46,642 development works have been completed, benefiting 47,59,399 beneficiaries so far.

With regard to Telangana, the minister informed the House that under the education sector, 3,529 beneficiaries have been identified, of whom 472 have already received benefits under the scheme.

“The House was also informed that, across the country, 3,28,131 development works and 1,10,51,213 beneficiaries have been identified under the scheme. Of these, 46,642 development works have been completed, benefiting 47,59,399 beneficiaries so far,” the minister stated.

“With regard to Telangana, the written reply stated that under the education sector, 3,529 beneficiaries have been identified, out of which 472 beneficiaries have already received benefits under the scheme,” it added.

Responding to a query on third-party audits, Athawale said States and Union Territories have been directed to verify the self-declaration of Adarsh Gram under the PM-AJAY Adarsh Gram component.